Inflatable funnel

ABSTRACT

An inflatable funnel, having inner and outer funnel shaped members, formed of flexible, resilient sheet material sealed at their tops and bottoms leaving a space therebetween for the insertion of air to inflate the funnel into semi-rigid form. The deflated funnel folds to very small dimensions, and while inflated the funnel is sufficiently rigid for directing fluid from one container to another out its smaller end.

United States Patent 1 1 1 11 3,815,646 Coakley June 11, 1974 4] INFLATABLE FUNNEL 1,660,442 2/1928 Hampton 141/337 [76] Inventor: Donald L Coakley, 101 Washington 1,733,261 10/1929 Hlgby m1. ..141/337 Ave., Golden, Colo. 80401 Filed: Jan. 29, 1973 Appl. No.: 327,498

US. Cl. 141/337, 210/473 Int. Cl B65b 39/04 Field of Search 141/98, 199-205, 141/297-300, 331-345, 390-392; 46/87, 88; 222/522-530; 210/473 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1911 Harrington 141/337 Primary Examiner-Houston S. Bell, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Richard D. Law

[ 57 ABSTRACT An inflatable funnel, having inner and outer funnel shaped members, formed of flexible, resilient sheet material sealed at their tops and bottoms leaving a space therebetween for the insertion of air to inflate the funnel into semi-rigid form. The deflated funnel folds to very small dimensions, and while inflated the funnel is sufficiently rigid for directing fluid from one container to another out its smaller end.

7 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1 INFLATABLE FUNNEL Funnels are generally cone shaped instruments having a large mouth inlet and a small mouth or outlet for pouring powders or liquids into containers having small openings. Traditionally, they are made of essentially rigid material, metal, plastic, glass, etc., so as to hold their shape during the pouring operation. Some funnels have been made collapsible, generally made of rigid sections that telescope in one another, as for example, a series of segments of conical sections which bind together one inside the other. The common rigid funnels are difficult to store due to their size and shape, and are, therefore, not easily and readily available when and where needed. For example, a funnel useful for pouring gasoline from a container into an automobile gas tank must be of a fairly large size to permit pouring from a gallon or five gallon can into the angled spout of the automobile gas tank. Such a large funnel is not easily or conveniently stored in the automobile.

According to the present invention there is provided an inflatable funnel formedof sheet or film plastic, such as polyethylene or the like, with two conical, funnel shaped elements formed of sheet or film material nested one inside the other with the tops and bottoms sealed together to form an inflatable funnel. An inflationnozzle may be provided on the outer member for injecting sufficient air between the two for maintainin the funnel essentially rigid for its use.

Therefore, included among the objects and advantages of the present invention is an inflatable funnel arranged to be deflated and folded into a small package or inflated into a'usable funnel for pouring liquids, etc.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inflatable funnel which is formed of very light weight material and folds into a very small package, but is inflatable to a sufficiently rigid funnel for pouring liquids, etc.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an inflatable funnel which is formed of two sheets of light weight plastic sheet or film capable of being inflated to a'semi-rigid funnel for pouring liquids, etc.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inflatablefunnel formed of two sheets of synthetic plastic sheet or film arranged into different sizes and shapes, each of which is arranged to be deflated and folded into a small compact package or inlfated to a usable device.

These andother objects and advantages of the invention may be readily ascertained by referring to the following description and appended illustrations in which:

FIG. 1 isa schematic perspective view of one form of inflatable funnel according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional detail of the device of FIG. 1 taken along section line 22;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing one method of manufacture of the device of the invention illustrating a two part construction;

FIG. 4 is across sectional view of the modified form of an inflatable funnel according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a fileter mechanism arranged for use in the funnel of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a developed section of one form of a sheet useful for forming a funnel such as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a sheet of plastic material in position for welding into a longitudinal seam for forming a portion of the funnel of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modified form of funnel formed according to the invention.

The embodiment selected for illustration in FIGS. 1 and 3 is of a conventional funnel shape, wherein the instrument has two interconnected truncated cones of different sizes, the larger truncated cone forming the body of the funnel and the smaller forming the spout. In FIGS. l-3, a main body 10 of the funnel includes a large mouth or inlet 12 and a small mouth 14, while a smaller truncated cone section 16 is secured to the small mouth 14 and is provided with a still smaller mouth or outlet 18. The inflatable funnel is formed of an inner funnel section 20 and an outer funnel section 22. These are positioned one inside the other and welded together at an upper edge 24 and at their lower edge 26, providing a hollow space 28 therebetween. The outer funnel section 22 includes an inflating nozzle 30 so that air may be introduced into or released from the space 28. As illustrated in FIG.3, the inner funnel section 20 is formed of a single sheet rolled into aci'rcle and welded together along a weld line 21 to form a funnel shape, and the outer funnel section 22 similary rolled is welded together along a weldment or seam line 23. The funnel section 20 is then placed inside the funnel section 22 and the edge 24a of the inner element 20 is welded to the edge 24 of the outer element 22. In like manner, the bottom edge 18a is welded to the bottom edge 18b of the element 22.

' The material of the funnel is preferably a soft resilient synthetic plastic which is gas or air tight, water propylene, vinyl chloride copolymers, acrylic resins,

vinylidine chloride-vinyl chloride copolymers, polyvinyl alcohol, fluorinated ethylene compounds, polystyrene, nylon, poly(ethylene teraphthalate), rubber hyform air and liquid tight seals by means of heat, solv vents, cements, adhesives and the like, depending upon the desires of the manufacturer. Furthermore, the funnel may be made in various sizes and shapes from a few inches high (inflated) to a foot or more in actual length and from an inch or two in diameter (inflated) to a foot or more in diameter. The shape will generally be determined by the use to which the funnel will be put. The shape of FIG. 1 is a traditional funnel shape with'the double conical sections providing a large inlet and a small outlet. In FIG. 8 a funnel is formedwith its outlet at an angle forming a side outlet, which is highly useful for use in putting gasoline into automobiles which have a gas spout generally pointing horizontal, and in many instances behind a hinged license plate below the trunk of the automobile.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 is a simple, inflatable funnel formed of two telescoped truncated conical members. The funnel, shown in general by numeral 40, includes a large inlet or cone base 41 and a small outlet 42 at the opposite end. An outside member of plastic sheet or film 43 is sealed at its upper edge 44 to an inner edge 45 of an inner member 46. In similar manner, a lower outer edge 47 is sealed to an inner lower edge 48 of the inner member 46. The outermember 43 is provided with an inflating spout 49. The developed section of the outer member shown in FIG. 6, which is a generally semi-circular sheet of plastic having a semi-circular cut-out 42 which forms the outlet when the developed section is rolled into a circle. The upper edge 44 and the lower edge 47 are illustrated as areas which are arranged to be welded to the inner member. As shown in FlG. 7, the developed section is rolled from its flat position to a circular position, and it is formed into the outer section by welding edge 50 to edge 51 forming a liquid and air-proof seal therealong. The weldment may be of any form as explained above. The inner member 46 has a tubular or cylindrical member 54 welded on its inner surface adjacent the outlet .end 42 and immediately therebelow another cylinder tube 55 is welded leaving a space therebetween. The tubular or cylindrical material may be of the same material as the tube or of a different material as desired, and the two are welded in position in the funnel. These two elements provide a space in which a filter or the like may be placed, and a filter such as filter 58 (FIG. '5) of a screen-like material may be pressed into the space between the two to provide filtering where desired. The filter may be formed of synthetic plastic, metalscreen, or any 'material which will filter a liquid flowing through the funnel including such material as felt, matted fibers, and the like. v

The funnel of FIG. 8 includes a major body 60 having an upper outlet 61 and a side directed outlet 62. The funnel is provided with an inflating member 63 for inflating'ordeflating theunit. This funnel is formed in a manner similar to that of the one described above with an outer and an inner member so that the space therebetween may be filled'with air to provide an essentially semi-rigid filter for the passing of fluids from a vertical to a generally horizontally directed inlet to a tank or the like. The angle between the perpendicular axis to the plane of the inlet and the perpendicular axis to the plane of the outlet may be made at any desired angle depending on the use to which it is used.

When formed of soft, resilient material, such as sheet or film polyethylene, which is quite thin, for example, between it and mil film, a reasonably large inflatable funnel may be made. For example, a funnel may be readily made, which is 14 inches total length with a large opening of about 8 to inches across and a small outlet opening of between /2 and 1 inch. The funnel may be deflated and folded into a small package of not much larger than an inch and a half square and about a half inch thick. This deflated funnel may be placed in the glove compartment of a car, for example, and when needed may be withdrawn, inflated and used. The funnel made of polyethylene is sufficiently solvent resistant to permit its use with gasoline without apparent deterioration, and may be used a number of times without damage. When the funnel has once been used it may either be thrownaway or may be washed, cleaned,

dried and deflated, folded and stored for additional use; In some cases it may be desirable to place an extra piece of material to the device to form a handle, such as handle 47 of FIG. 4. This handle may be just an extra piece of the film extending from the surface of the outside section or it may be attached and in communication with the chamber so that it too may be inflatable, as a tube. As a split tube, a piece of cardboard may be placed in the handle to indicate the seller or the giver of the instrument.

An inflatable funnel may, also, be manufactured by placing two identical sheets or developed section one on top of the other, for example, two sheets in the shape of the developed section of FIG. 6. With the two, one on top of the other, the edges are sealed together completely around, leaving a space in the middle of the edge welds. By rolling the joined members into a circle such as FIG. 7, and by sealing the edges (i.e., edges 50 and 51) together an inflatable funnel is formed. An inflating nozzle is required on the exterior member.

- Iclaim:

1. An inflatable funnel comprising an inner funnel shaped member formed of a foldable, air and liquid tight, soft, resilient film-like material; an outer funnel shaped member telescoped over said inner member and formed of a foldable, air and liquid tight, soft, resilient, film-like material; said inner and outer members being sealed together to form an air-tight chamber therebetween which permits said space to be filled with air to inflate said unit into an essentially semi-rigid funnel, and means for introducing and withdrawing air from said chamber. I I

2. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said inner and outer funnel shaped members include a large truncated cone shape and a smaller truncated cone shape secured to the small end of said large truncated cone shape.

3. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said inner and outer funnel shaped members are truncated cones.

4. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said film-like material is a synthetic plastic.

5. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein the outlet of said funnel is directed at an angle to a perpendicular axis through the inlet of said funnel.

6. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said inner and outer funnel shaped members are formed of planar sheet material rolled into a circle with the adjoining edges sealed together in an air and liquid tight seal.

7.An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said inner and outer members are sealed together at their tops and bottoms forming an air tight chamber 

1. An inflatable funnel comprising an inner funnel shaped member formed of a foldable, air and liquid tight, soft, resilient Filmlike material; an outer funnel shaped member telescoped over said inner member and formed of a foldable, air and liquid tight, soft, resilient, film-like material; said inner and outer members being sealed together to form an air-tight chamber therebetween which permits said space to be filled with air to inflate said unit into an essentially semi-rigid funnel, and means for introducing and withdrawing air from said chamber.
 2. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said inner and outer funnel shaped members include a large truncated cone shape and a smaller truncated cone shape secured to the small end of said large truncated cone shape.
 3. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said inner and outer funnel shaped members are truncated cones.
 4. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said film-like material is a synthetic plastic.
 5. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein the outlet of said funnel is directed at an angle to a perpendicular axis through the inlet of said funnel.
 6. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said inner and outer funnel shaped members are formed of planar sheet material rolled into a circle with the adjoining edges sealed together in an air and liquid tight seal.
 7. An inflatable funnel according to claim 1 wherein said inner and outer members are sealed together at their tops and bottoms forming an air tight chamber therebetween. 